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Witness / Attend in Phnom Penh
Bon Om Touk
Cambodia's riverside capital at the meeting of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers, a low-slung city of French-colonial shophouses and boulevards, the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, and the Khmer sculpture of the National Museum, long the political and cultural heart of the country.
Scheduled and sanctioned by National Committee for the Water Festival.
Dates & details verified against: National tourism board ↗
Why here
Bon Om Touk, the Cambodian Water Festival, is the country's biggest annual celebration, and the riverfront in Phnom Penh is where it peaks. It marks the moment each November when the Tonle Sap river reverses its flow and drains back into the Mekong, the natural cycle that feeds the great lake. For three days more than a hundred long wooden racing boats, each crewed by dozens of rowers from provinces across the country, sprint down the Tonle Sap in front of the Royal Palace while a huge crowd packs Sisowath Quay. After dark there are illuminated floats on the river, fireworks over the water and the moon salutation of Sampeas Preah Khe, when people eat the flattened-rice snack ambok. There is no ticket and no single stage. You come to the riverside, join the crowd along the quay, and watch the races and the fireworks from the bank.
Best months
A three-day festival tied to the November full moon of the Khmer month of Kadeuk, so the dates move each year with the lunar calendar. The boat races run in daylight on the Tonle Sap in front of the Royal Palace, with illuminated floats, fireworks and the moon salutation after dark. Crowds are enormous and central Phnom Penh is closed to traffic along the river, so arrive early for a spot on the quay. November is warm and dry.
Getting there & around
The festivities centre on Sisowath Quay along the west bank of the Tonle Sap in central Phnom Penh, in front of the Royal Palace, all of it walkable and free to watch. The riverside roads close and the city fills, so accommodation books out and prices rise well ahead; reserve a room near the river early and expect to move around on foot. The event is nationwide, but Phnom Penh hosts the largest races and the main crowds.
Skill levels: beginner
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